Prior to surgery, patients have the surgical area draped with a surgical drape. Often associated with these drapes are fluid collection bags. These bags are most often used in operations where large amounts of fluid runoff is anticipated. The bags or pouches, which terms are used herein synonymously, are usually attached to the drape in such a way as to collect fluid run off. In addition the drape may or may not have construction features which serve to channel the fluids into the bag.
A problem associated with these pouches is that after they are opened to receive and collect fluids they are often times closed accidentally during the surgical procedure being performed. These undesirable closures can be caused by physical contact with operating room personnel or equipment. When such unwanted closures occur, fluid associated with the surgery no longer is collected in the bags thereby spilling into unwanted areas and onto apparel and possibly contaminating the operating area. With the increased significance of deadly disease being transmitted through blood and bodily fluids, the importance of this problem is correspondingly increased. A good description of surgical drapes and fluid collection bags associated therewith is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,859, which is incorporated herein by reference.
It was sought to maintain these prior art bags in the open position using relatively rigid attachments such as wires or metal bars. Another proposed solution to the problem of unwanted bag closure was the use of reticulated porous foams positioned in the top of a bag's opening. Such embodiments attempted to use the pores of the foam as a means for allowing liquid passage when bag closure took place. These pores were often inadequate to pass or retain large volumes of liquid. Also, some prior art devices used to maintain these bags in the open position are often times not sufficiently resistant to compression forces of the type described to resist closure.